Supporting means for hinged covers



y 1952 G. w. LYONS, .JR., ETAL 2,603,819

SUPPORTING MEANS FOR HINGED, COVERS Filed June 21, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET l hue/7 1 0/45 ,WWVW

July 22, 1952 G. w. LYONS, JR., ET AL 2,603,819

SUPPORTING MEANS FOR HINGED COVERS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed June 21 1950 Patented July 22, 1952 SUPPORTING MEANS FOR HINGE!) coviias George W. Lyons, Jr., West Haven, and John'M. V Lyons, North 'Guilford, Conn. V

Application June 21, 1950, Serial rim-169,312 v 4 Claims. 1

p The present invention relates in general to supports for hinged members and more especially to superior supporting means for a hinged cover such as, for example, a hatch cover, bulkhead, box cover, automobile hood, and the like.

An object of the invention is to provide a superior hinged cover supporting means of simple, durable and economical construction.

A further objectof the invention is to provide a hinged-cover supporting means with superior resilient means for holding the cover in its closed position and for assisting in raising the cover.

A still furthenobject of the invention .is to provide superior fastening means for detachably securing resilient means to the supporting means of ahinged cover. 1 r

With the above and other objects in view, as willappear to those skilled in the art from the present disclosure, thisinvention includes all features in the saiddlsclosure which arenovel over the prior art.

In the accompanying drawings, in which certain modes of carrying out the present invention are shown for-illustrative purposes Fig. 1 is a perspective view, partly broken. away, of a bulkhead-having a hinged cover embodying the superior supporting. means of this invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged broken side elevation partly in section of the inner face of the righthand wall of thebulkhead of Fig. 1 showing a portion ofthe hinged cover of the bulkhead held in its raised position by the supporting means of this invention;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged broken front elevation of the right-hand wall of the bulkhead of Fig. 1 showing a portion of the corresponding edge of the hinged cover and the supporting means in v the relative positions of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the yokes for detachably securing the resilient.

means of the hinged cover supporting. means of. this invention, the cover of the bulkhead being,

shown in its raised position; and r Fig. 7 is anenlarged fragmentary. front elevation of details of the detachable fastening means of the resilient means shown in the modifled structure of Fig; 6.

. 2 The showing of Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive The; exemplary embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 through 5 isused-in con- I junction with the hinged cover of a bulkhead comprising a pair of substantially triangular- [4, the side panels, head plate and cover being formed preferably of sheet metal such as, for example, l2-gauge sheet steel.

The cover I4 is hinged at one edge to the head plate I3 of the bulkhead by hinge means such as, for example, bar-'iron'hinges l5.

Since the bulkhead shown herein ismerel for the purpose of illustr'atingan embodiment of the invention, otheristructural details of the bulkhead not essential to an understanding of the invention are omitted. i 1

The invention relates in particular-i0. supporting means for the hinged cover l4, twosuch supporting means being provided, as indicated generally at lE-IE, eachconnected to the inner wall of the respective side panel ll of the bulkhead and to the underside of the cover Meadjacent the corresponding edge thereof, and'each comprising "a linkage embodyinga relatively long lever arm H, a shorter lever arm [8 and coil springs indicated generally at'IS having detachable fastening means hereinafter described for connecting the springs to the arms I! and IS."

The upper end of arm I! of each linkage is pivotally secured as at 20 to the cover 14 by means of an 'L -shaped bracket 2| secured tothe underside of the cover adjacent its corresponding edge, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The oppo- I the crook 22 being provided at its outer extremity with 'an 'ape'rture for accommodating a stud forthe purpose hereinafter describedfj. I

1 Formed integrally with Or otherwisev secured to each arm I! in the plane thereof andfadjacent'thejbend of its crook 22, is a pair of spaced lugs forming a;bifurcated bracket 23. The latter projects inwardly substantially perpendicue .lar tothe longitudinal axis of the lever arm and As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the brackets 2| of' the arms are secured to the underside of the cover adjacent the edges of its opposite sides respectively and substantially midway of its front and rear edges, while the brackets 26 of the arms l8 are fastened to the inner walls of the corresponding side panels I of the bulkhead adjacent the upper rear end portions thereof Thus, when the cover is in its normal closed po sition, as shown in Fig. 5, the arms of each linkage 16 form a V, the short arms l8 extending forwardly and downwardly and the long arms extending rearwardly and downwardly, the

fulcrum point 24 of the arms coinciding with the apex of the V. On raising the cover I4 as indicated in Figs. land 2, the short lever arms I 8 of the linkages swing upwardly in a counterclockwise direction, carrying the fulcrum points 24' of the linkages upwardly above the upper'edges of the bulkhead, while the long lever arms swing outwardly away from the short lever arms, thereby straightening the linkages.

For the purpose of resiliently holding the cover of the bulkhead down in a normal closed position and up in its open position as well as to assist in straightening the pivoted lever arms of each linkage as the cover is raised, there is provided a pair of coil springs 2'|-2| and a pair of detachable fastening means hereinafter referred to as yokes 2828 by which the springs are connected to the lever arms. These yokes are substantially equilateral triangular plates,

each having apertures 29-29 in the oppositely disposed corners'of its base for accommodating therespective ends of the pair of coil springs 2'|'2|, and a keyhole-shaped aperture 30 at its apex.

Each yoke of the spring means is adapted to be detachably secured to one of the lever arms of a linkage. Thus, each arm I8 is provided adjacent its inner end with a stud 3| which is secured at its inner end to the arm adjacent the inner pivoted end thereof. The shank of each stud 3| projects inwardly substantially perpendicularly to the inner face of its respective lever arm l8, as shown more'particularly in Fig. 3, and is provided at its outer end with a flanged head 32. Mounted on the shank of each stud between its flanged head and the inner face of the respective lever arm is a. collar 33, the outer end of which is spaced from the flanged head of the corresponding stud and serves as an abutment for ayoke 28 mounted thereon, the keyhole-shaped aperture 30 of the yoke enabling the latter to be engaged over and detachably secured beneath the flanged head of the corresponding stud.

Similarly, each arm I1, and in particular its apertured crook 22, is provided with a stud 34 projecting inwardly substantiallyperpendicular to the inner face thereof, said. stud 34 having a flanged head 35 and a collar 36 by which the second yoke of the springs l9 of the corresponding linkage are detachably secured to the inner end of the respective arm l1.

As assembled on the arms l1 and I8 of the respective linkages, the yokes are adapted to support the pair of coil springs 2'|-2| between the corresponding lever arms, the relationship of the studs of the respective lever arms of each linkage being such that when the lever arms are in a normal position such as shown in Fig. 5, wherein the cover of .the bulkhead is closed, the springs 21-21 are under maximum tension, whereas, when the cover is raised to its open position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the springs will be under minimum tension, the minimum tension of the springs being sufficient, however, to hold the cover securely in its open position and to hold the narrow portions of the keyhole-shaped apertures 3|) of the yokes in cooperative engagement with the flanged heads of the respective studs of the lever arms so as to retain the yokes thereon. It will be clear from the foregoing description of the construction'of the resilient means I9 that the magnitude of the forceacting on the lever arms of a linkage may be readily varied by usingiinterchangeableyokes adapted to support as few as one or as many as three or more springs, the keyhole-shaped apertures of the yokes permitting the latter to be engaged over and detachably secured beneath the headed studs of the lever arms with facility-and dispatch.

Referring to Fig. 5, when the cover of the bulkhead is closed, in which position the arms of each linkage form aviwith the studs 3| and 34 of the lever arms are spaced apart a maximum distance with respect to each other and the stud 34 of the long lever arm-l1 isbelow and rearwardly of the fulcrum point 24 of the lever arms. As indicated by .the arrow f in Fig. 5 the force vector of .the tensione d coil springs 21-21, acts in a line through the two studs 3| and 34, which line of force'passesbelow the fulcrum point 24 of the lever arms, so that the direction of the force is upwardlyand rearwardly. As a result, the upper arm I! of each linkage is urged to pivot in a clockwise direction about its respective fulcrum point 24, each arm I! thereby exerting through its pivotal connection 20 with the hinged cover a resultant force indicated generally by the vector R, which acts'on the cover forwardly of its hinges. l5 and in a forward and downward direction, whereby the vertical, downwardly directed component of force tends to hold the cover closed. It will be apparent bya vestor analysis that this downward component, while substantial, is still comparatively light so that it may ,be relatively easily overcome by an upward pull upon thecover. 3

Now, by exerting sufiicient force on themderside of the cover to overcome the aforesaid downward component of the resultant forces RR. imposed on the door by the counterbalance linkages, the hinged; cover may be raised up, the lower arms |8--|8 swinging upwardly in a counterclockwise direction thereby moving the fulcrum points 24-24 of the levers upwardly through arcs, having radii corresponding to the lengths of the shortv lever arms; ,and lifting the long lever arms. the upper pivoted ends closed, will continue to act in this general direction as the cover is opened but willdecrease constantly in magnitude until the arms [1 and I8 of each linkage' are disposed substantially at right angles to each other, that is to say, when the fulcrum point 24 of each linkage is in a substantially horizontal plane coincident with'the pivotal point of the lower arm I 8 of the respective linkage, in which condition there is no vertical component produced on the cover by the reaction of the springs through the linkage. Further upward movement of the" covercauses the linkage to pass through such deadcent'er condition, after which the two resultantforces R act in an upward and forward direction on the. cover, this time producing a vertical, upwardly directed component, thereby assisting -'in raising the cover.

It will be clear, therefore, that the cover will be resiliently restrained from opening by the springs 21-21 as long as the fulcrum points 2424 of the linkages are below the pivotal points 2525 of the short lever arms thereof and that as soon as the fulcrum points are moved above the pivotal points of the short lever arms, the springs 2'l2'| act to assist in raising the cover. In this connection, it will be clear that as the cover is swung-upwardly into its fully raised or open position, the studs of the respective lever arms of each linkage move closer together, thereby reducing the tension of the springs so that the cover is held open by a relatively light force,'this force being sufficient, however, to securely hold the cover in its open position.

To close the cover, force must be exerted thereon to swing it downwardly, its downward swinging movement being resisted by the tensioning of the springs 2121 of each linkage as the respective lever arms thereof collapse. This resistance to closing continues until the lever arms are disposed at substantially right angles to each other, after which further downward movement of the cover is assisted by the force of springs 21-21 acting to pull the cover down and resiliently hold it in its closed position.

The showing of Figs. 6 and 7 inclusive In the showing of Figs. 6 and '7 inclusive, certain of the parts correspond to those previously described herein and such parts have reference characters applied thereto which correspond to those previously employed.

The modification shown in Figs. Sand '7 relates in particular to the resilient means of the linkages and is designed to provide greater latitude in the number of springs used with each linkage of the hinged cover. To this end, both the short lever arm and the long lever arm of a linkage are provided with a pair of yokes 28-48, each pair of yokes of the long lever arm I! being supported on opposite sides respectively thereof and in spaced substantially parallel relationship thereto by means of a single stud 31 which extends through the transverse aperture of the crook 22 of the long lever arm and is provided with a pair of collars 3838 mounted on'the outwardly and oppositely projecting shanks thereof. Flanged heads 39-39 are provided on the two coil springs 21-21, two of the four coil springs being mounted on one side of the linkage and two of the coil springs being mounted on the opposite side of the linkage, as shown in Fig. 6. As in the previous disclosure, the yokes of the modified structure of Figs. 6 and 7 are adapted to be readily interchangeable with similar yokes for supporting fewer or more than two coil outer ends of the stud shanks and serve to hold springs so as to vary the magnitude of the resultant force R which acts'to hold the cover closed and to assist in raising the cover and holding it open as and in the manner hereinabove described. 1

The invention may be carried out in other specific ways than those herein set forth without departing'from the spirit and essential characteristics of the invention, and the present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered 'inall respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced'therein.

'We claim:

1. In an article having a hinged cover, the combination including: supporting means for said cover, said supporting means comprising a linkage fastened to saidcover and to said article having headed studs projecting therefrom; resilient means adapted to be connected at its opposite ends to said linkage normally to resiliently hold said cover closed and to assist in raising said cover; and fastening means at the opposite ends of said resilient means, said fastening means comprising yoke members, each yoke member having a keyhole slot arranged to engage over a headed stud of said linkage to detachably connect the yoke member of the corresponding end of said resilient means to said linkage.

2. In an article having a hinged cover, the combination including: supporting means for said cover, said supporting means comprising a linkage fastened to said cover and to said article, said linkage comprising a pair of lever arms, one of said lever arms being fulcrumed intermediate its opposite ends on the free end of the other lever arm of said linkage, the free end of the said one lever arm being bent and provided with a headed stud projecting therefrom, and a headed stud projecting from the said other lever arm of said linkage; resilient means comprising a coil spring adapted. to be connected at its opposite ends to said linkage normally to resiliently hold said cover closed and to assist in raising said cover; and fastening means at the opposite ends of said coil spring, said fastening means comprising yoke members, each yoke member having'a keyhole slot arranged to engage over a headed stud of the corresponding lever arm of said linkage to detachably connect the yoke member and the corresponding end of said coil spring to said linkage.

3. In an article having a hinged cover, the combination including: supporting means for said cover, said supporting means comprising a pair of lever arms, one of said lever arms being pivotally secured to the underside of said cover and the other of said lever arms being pivotally secured to a wall of said article, the said one lever arm beingfulcru'med intermediate itsQpposite ends on'ath'elfree'end of'the saidother pivoted lever arm ofsaid'linkaga'the free end of said one-lever arm being bent-and provided with a headed stud projecting'therefrom, and'a headed stud projecting from the said other lever arm of said linkage; resilient means comprising a pair of coil springs adapted to be connected at its opposite ends to said linkage normally to resiliently hold said cover closed and to assist in raising saidicover; and fastening means at the opposite ends of said pair of coil-springs, said fastening means comprising yoke members, each yoke member having a keyhole slot arranged to engage over a headed stud of the corresponding lever arm of said linkage to detachably connect the yoke member and the corresponding. end of said pair of coil springs to said linkage, the'pivotal connections between the lever arms, the cover, and the wall of said article and the attaching points of the resilient means being so arranged that a maximum force is exerted by the resilient means to hold the cover in its closed position and a minimum force is exerted by said resilient means to hold said cover in its open position.

4. In an article having a hinged-cover; the combination including: supporting means for said cover, said supporting means comprising a pair of linkages fastened to the opposite edges respectively of said cover and to the corresponding walls of said article, each of said linkages comprising a pair of lever arms, one of-said lever arms being fulcrumed intermediate its opposite ends on the free end of the other lever; arm of the corresponding linkage theg freeend of the said one lever arm being bent and provided with a headed stud projecting therefrom, and a headed stud projecting from thesaid other lever arm of said corresponding linkage; a pair of resilient means, each comprising a pair of coil springs adapted to be connected at its opposite ends to corresponding linkages normally to resiliently hold the cover closed and to assist in raising said cover;;and fastening means at the opposite ends of each respective pair of coil springs, said fastening means comprising yoke members, each yoke-member having a keyhole slot arranged to engage over a headedstudof a lever arm of the corresponding linkage to detachably connect the yoke member andthe-ends of the corresponding pair of coil springs to the correspondinglinkage.

' GEORGE. W. LYONS, JR.

' JOHN M. LYONS'.

REFERENCES oIT D The following references are of record in the file of this patent:'

UNITED STATES PATENTS I Date Foster Sept. 5, 1950 

